Misplaced Childhood is the third studio album of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It was released in 1985 and has been their most commercially successful album, going immediately to number one in the UK album charts in June 1985 and spending a total of 41 weeks on the chart, the longest chart residency of a Marillion album.[1]

The album features the band's two most successful singles, the guitar-led "Kayleigh", which reached No. 2 in the UK and was a worldwide success, and the piano-led "Lavender", which reached No. 5. The name Kayleigh was devised by Fish to slightly obscure the name of a former girlfriend named "Kay Lee" (with "Lee" being the middle name), whom the song was mostly about.

Misplaced Childhood was the band's first full concept album, consisting of two continuous pieces of music on the two sides of the vinyl. In live concerts preceding the album, Fish had originally claimed as a teaser that the next album would consist of only two tracks, 'Side One' and 'Side Two'. Then, during the Misplaced Childhood tour, Fish would announce "Now there is time for one more track... the name of the track is 'Misplaced Childhood'", and the band performed the entire album in sequence.

The story has thematic elements of lost love, sudden success, acceptance, and lost childhood, along with an upbeat ending. As Fish explains, he conceived the concept during a 10-hour acid trip.[2] Several of the songs and titles contain notable autobiographical references; one example is that track 2 ("Kayleigh") references past girlfriends. Another example is track 5 ("I was born with the heart of Lothian"), which is a reference to a traditional region of Scotland – Fish himself being from Midlothian – and a reference to the Heart of Midlothian (Royal Mile) – a mosaic heart in the pavement of Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

A 2-CD remastered version with additional B-sides and demos was released in 1998.

The album was originally released on Cassette, vinyl LP, 12" Picture Disc and CD. In 1998, as part of a series of Marillion's first eight studio albums, EMI re-released Misplaced Childhood with remastered sound and a second disc containing bonus material, listed above. The remastered edition was later also made available without the bonus disc.

"Stoned Immaculate" by The Doors, referenced in "Perimeter Walk" ("Out here in the perimeter there are no stars. Out here we IS stoned. Immaculate."). On The Thieving Magpie (CD Version) during the performance of "Perimeter Walk" you can hear Fish say "Stoned and Immaculate".

The boy on the cover art is Robert Mead, a then ten-year-old who lived next door to sleeve artist Mark Wilkinson. Mead was portrayed on the sleeves of the album's three hit singles, "Kayleigh", "Lavender" and "Heart of Lothian", and also appeared in the music video for "Kayleigh".

The album topped the 1985 readers' poll for best album in Sounds magazine and came sixth in Kerrang! magazine's Albums of the Year 1985.[4] The album came fourth in Classic Rock's list of the 30 greatest concept albums of all time.[5] In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came No. 17 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".[6]

John Franck of AllMusic said the album was "not only the band's most accomplished release to date, but also its most streamlined... With its lush production and punchy mix, the album went on to become the band's greatest commercial triumph, especially in Europe where they would rise from theater attraction to bona fide stadium royalty."[3]